City With a Radical History Makes Peace With Vietnam Vets : Berkeley: Memorial honors those who died in the war, which ended 20 years ago. Chief organizer is Woodstock veteran Country Joe McDonald.

In the 1960s, Country Joe McDonald wrote the “Fixin’ to Die Rag”--an anti-war anthem of sorts that went, “One, two, three, what are we fighting for? Don’t ask me, I don’t give a damn. Next stop is Vietnam.”

But in the ‘90s, McDonald says, “I really don’t see any good guys or bad guys any more. There’s just a lot of victims on all sides.”

The change in McDonald has been mirrored in his town, Berkeley. And streets that once reverberated with thunderous anti-war protests will echo to the sound of an entirely different drummer this weekend.

Twenty years after the fall of Saigon, Berkeley is finally making peace with its Vietnam vets with a memorial--complete with the solemn beat of a color guard--commemorating the 21 local men who died in the conflict.

“We have found common ground in Berkeley and the message is, the war is over,” said McDonald, the driving force behind the effort to recognize Berkeley’s war dead.

McDonald believes he is uniquely suited to orchestrate Berkeley’s reconciliation. Not only is he a veteran of the anti-war movement, he’s also a veteran of the Navy, serving a 3-year uneventful stint pre-Woodstock.

“I just have to believe I was born to do this,” McDonald said.

The memorial, a framed hand-lettered scroll of names that will be hung inside the Veterans Memorial Building, is the latest departure from the radical policies that once won Berkeley the nickname “Berserkeley.”

In recent years, leftists have lost control of the City Council and debates over foreign policy have been replaced with such prosaic issues as sprucing up downtown.

But Councilwoman Dona Spring, who was once clubbed by a policeman during a particularly spirited protest of the bombing of Cambodia, says the plaque should not be taken as capitulation on the city’s part.

“It’s not an apology for our anti-war activity,” she said. “This is a chance for us to recognize there were some people who unfortunately lost their lives and to honor them for this and to try to bring healing and closure to this event and move forward.”

Berkeley’s decision to extend the olive branch came as a surprise to surviving veterans.

“Mostly it was just shock--Berkeley? Our Berkeley?” said Bill Hodges, president of Chapter 400 of the Vietnam Veterans of America, based in the neighboring city of Oakland.

During its anti-war heyday, Berkeley’s City Council members stopped saying the Pledge of Allegiance, while its citizens marched, rallied and even hoisted a Viet Cong flag in the streets to show their sympathies.

Veterans discharged to the area sometimes got an unfriendly homecoming.

“They were cursed and spit at and called baby killers and this and that, just about everything,” Hodges said.

Twenty years later, some veterans greeted the news that Berkeley was ready to make amends with a terse, “It’s about time.”

But Hodges was philosophical.

“Better late than never,” he said.

Among those planning to attend the ceremony is Bob Waller, whose twin brother John, was killed at age 21 in the conflict.

The brothers disagreed on Vietnam. John volunteered to serve, while Bob opposed the war.

But Waller said he is pleased to be able to recognize the sacrifice of his twin.

“I think it’s a real good thing. It just has to do with healing the nation’s soul,” he said.

McDonald said the city really isnt’t that different from the rest of the country.

“People do make jokes about Berkeley being the Republic of Berkeley,” he said. “The fact of the matter is that we’re part of America, and we pay our taxes and we serve in the military just like anyplace else.”